Lady Luck deserted us when Harambe was brought down at the first at Chepstow yesterday, but we have put that blip behind us and look to continue our excellent start to November with nine runners today, seven of them at our local meeting Newbury, where they stage their first jumps fixture of the new season this afternoon.

The course’s biggest jumps day of the year is now only 23 days away, with the Ladbroke Trophy, still known to us old-codgers as the Hennessy Gold Cup, the feature, and both our entries, Dingo Dollar and Label des Obeaux, have their prep over hurdles in the Pertemps qualifier.

Alan said:”We pulled Dingo Dollar out of Wetherby last Saturday because of the fast ground, but they have had some rain at Newbury and as he hasn’t run since his excellent second at Ayr in April we need to give him an outing before the big one, so we are taking up this option.

“Label des Obeaux also takes his chance. He has not run since finishing sixth in the Scottish National at that same Ayr meeting, and we need to get him started, too.”

We launch one of our newcomers, Fibonacci, in the novice hurdle, and he is a young horse that Alan likes.

He said:”Fibonacci won on the Flat at Haydock for Hugo Palmer before going to France, and we have been pleased with what we have seen since he joined us. He is a big horse, so a galloping track like Newbury should suit him.”

Talkischeap, who makes his debut over regulation fences in the beginners chase, has already won at Newbury, and Alan added:”He was a useful handicap hurdler and a multiple point-to-point winner, and he went well on his first school on the grass since April on Monday so we are looking forward to him, too.”

Of our other runners, Alan said”Sula Island, who goes for the mares novice hurdle, is a decent filly who won the Flat and then made a winning start over jumps at Market Rasen. This is a much stronger race but we should learn more here.

“We have two runners in the bumper. Edwardstone is a Kayf Tara who we like, but he has done all his work on the all-weather at home, so we will learn a lot from this debut, while Lord Walsingham, who worked like a good horse last season, disappointed on his debut at Kempton in February. That might well have been immaturity, but we’ll hope to find out here.”